


Spellbound

by DSGent



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Action/Adventure, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Gen, Historical Fantasy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-07
Updated: 2015-05-11
Packaged: 2018-03-10 23:28:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3307217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DSGent/pseuds/DSGent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set in medieval ages with magic, potions, and monsters. John is the son of a duke and heir to his duchy, Dave is a knight and the duke's champion, Jade is the hold's apothecary and John's magic mentor, and Rose is the arcane advisor to the duke. Together, they discover something that will change the world and possibly destroy it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Prologue, Part I : The Heir**  
Given the time of day, it was not unusual for John to be found in his room. It was just after noon, the scheduled time of his training. John didn't mind being late to his meeting as he'd prefer to miss it altogether. Hence, he procrastinates until someone arrives to fetch him for his noble duties. John is heir to the duchy of Austrasia, and as such, he must be tutored in manners, court, and sovereign duty, among other things. Most of these are taught by the his father's senechal with the exception of swordplay and nobility magic. Every day, from after lunch until nightfall, John attends his tutoring. The only session he draws any joy from is nobility magic at the end of the day, but only because he enjoys the company of his teacher. Nobles from their early youth are taught magic unique to their noble family. " _Anyone with discipline can learn magic_ ," his tutor often said. While this is true, it is hardly known or spoken as that is just the way the nobles prefer it. Thus, their superiority can hold a more physical manifestation.  
"My lord, it is past time for today's lesson," the senechal goaded while entering. John sighed and reluctantly went off, led by the senechal to his duties.  
  
Court lessons went as usual: John struggled to understand the purpose and meaning behind the ideals and laws of the duchy. In a formal setting, he felt entirely out of his element. Manners followed likewise. Swordsmanship would have been more pleasurable if he was any good at it. Sadly, he had the finesse of a dead fish. The peerage lesson on knighthood caught only a slight interest. By the time his magic lesson rolled around, John was exhausted, but he drew energy at the thought of spending time with a friend. His magic tutor was the only one of his teachers that was remotely the same age as him, and they got along quite well.  
John made his way down to the cellar where the apothecary chamber was located. His teacher almost always got caught up in her work and would invariably show up for lessons late. John began simply meeting her in the apothecary chamber where she would always be found beforehand. Just as he entered, there was a loud shriek. John nearly fell backwards out of shock, but his heart was steadied by the cackling that soon followed from the the source of the scream.  
"Goddamnit, Jade. You scared the hell out of me," John panted.  
"Oh, John! I didn't expect you to be so early," Jade replied still chuckling as she stroked her dress with a rag. "I didn't expect the potion to foam so much, it practically exploded at me--wait, is it already eight?"  
"A little after actually, the senechal brought in a couple knights for peerage, and it went a little late."  
"Oh my god, I was supposed to bring another batch of polish to the guard captain like two hours ago."  
"Well, it's too late now, the guard captain is probably back at the barracks by now."  
"Oh well, I suppose he'll just have to wait," Jade sighed. "Come on, let's get out to the courtyard for your next lesson. We're moving onto something new today."  
  
Thanks to the courtyard's plethora of torches, it was remarkably well lit given the time of day. The east wing was essentially a Roman villa attached to side of the hold. It's courtyard was designated for John's magic lessons due to it's size, but also because there was little there that was not made from robust stone willing to take a hit or two.  
Upon their arrival, Jade pulls out a small piece of stone shaped as a perfect cylinder. She set it on the ground and with a wave of her fingers, it grew to a large pedestal. "No, more silly exercises," Jade nodded toward the pedestal. "Today, you're going to begin learning your first remedial combat spell."  
"Alright, now what's that stone for then?" John inquired.  
Jade smiled as if she'd been waiting for that very question. After motioning for John to step back, she turns to the stone pedestal. Jade lifts her arm, and gives an effortless flick of her wrist. With a loud crack, half the pedestal was rubble, smashed by a visible shock wave that emerged from her hand. John could feel a light breeze in the wake of the spell.  
Jade turn to John still smiling, "As you know, your family's nobility magic is wind-based. While this is the most remedial spell of your family's magic, it is also the most useful. Since it is short-ranged and can be cast by a single hand, it can be used in conjunction with your sword. For this reason, we will be learning this spell cast by your off-hand." John looked perplexed by the thought of casting with his left hand alone. Jade continued nonetheless. "This spell compresses the air in front of your hand and casts it as a controlled burst in a specific direction. The more you control and restrict its direction, the stronger it is. Narrowing its focus to directly in front of you, it becomes an air cannon that can break even the toughest of stone or the strongest of armor."  
John quickly learned that the spell was not nearly as easy as it looked. By the end of his lesson, John had managed to conjure nothing more than a gentle puff of wind. Jade claimed it was a great start, but it felt like empty encouragement to him. Jade was always encouraging and optimistic which softened much of the frustration John felt when learning new exercises. She often got side-tracked, but that was part of her charm. Learning came slow, but John rarely felt like it was rigorous much in part due to Jade's tutelage.

* * *

  
**Prologue, Part II : The Knight**  
Another boring, tiresome day on patrol, and Dave was ready to go straight to bed. After all, what better way to handle boredom and fatigue than copious amounts of sleep? At least, that was the way Dave saw it. He was sweaty, but his feet hurt from standing in full armor all day, so bed won out over a bath. On his way to his quarters, he spots the guard captain turning the corner walking toward him. _Shit._ He thought. _Just what I need is some more harassment before bed. Maybe I will go for a bath after all._ Just as Dave turns around to go the other way--"Strider!" _Oh, goddamnit._ "A word."  
"What is it this time?" Dave exasperated.  
"You will speak to your captain with respect."  
"Alright, what can do for you?"  
" _Sir._ " the captain interjected.  
"No reason to call me 'sir,' Captain. I am still your subordinate after all."  
"Dammit, Strider! Manners may be difficult for your plebeian mind to grasp, but the duke apparently thought highly enough of you to make you a knight. You could at least _attempt_ to act properly and show your superiors respect! Now, get your ass down to the apothecary and retrieve the polish for tomorrow."  
"What for? Shouldn't we already have plenty?"  
"We would if your little witch friend had delivered it when she was supposed to. Since you two are so chummy, you can run down there like a good little soldier and get it. Then, when you get back, you will polish the arms; I want to see my face in every sword by morning."  
"You can't' seriously--"  
"I am entirely serious. And I suggest you get your pretty, little ass down there before I have you flogged for disrespecting your commanding officer."  
  
Dave reluctantly slinked down to the apothecary chamber across the hold to find Jade exactly where he always found her. "Hey, Harley. Where's the polish, you forgo--holy shit, what happened over there?"  
Jade spun around to find Dave staring at the mess of solidified foam surrounding the potion basin. "Oh, right. That was supposed to a balm. I dug up an old recipe for this cream that supposedly made the skin temporarily fire resistant, but I didn't have all the ingredients, so I started substituting and--" she trailed off as she motioned to the mess. "Anyway, you came for something? The polish?"  
"Yeah, weren't you supposed to drop it off with Captain after dinner?"  
"Right, yes, I was. Sorry, I got a little caught up with the balm and all, next thing I knew, it was practically nightfall."  
"Well, where is it--the polish? I need to get back down to the barracks and shine the arms so I can get to bed before sunrise."  
"No way! It's so late, and you've got the presentation of arms tomorrow. All that standing and marching in full armor, you'll need your sleep!"  
"Hence, why we need the arms polished. Now, hurry up, chop-chop, lots of polishing to do."  
"Fine, it's over here," Jade grabs a small, cylindrical container from the corner, "but I'm coming with you, it'll get done faster with another pair of hands."  
"What? Nah, you don't need to do that. Besides, it's not like you can just waltz into the armory with me, the barracks is off-limits to anyone who isn't a guard."  
"Oh, when did you get to be such a stick in the mud? I'll just conceal myself with a spell, and sneak in with you. I'm not taking no for an answer."  
"Fine, whatever, but don't blame me if you fall into a cauldron from lack of sleep tomorrow."  
"I'm sure some brave, heroic knight will stride along by and notice a damsel in distress. Hmm?" she leads Dave out the door.  
"I dunno, Harley. Captain doesn't ever come down here unless he absolutely has to."  
Jade jabs him in the side. "I was refering to you, you dork. You may be on patrol for most of the day, but you almost always end up wandering down here somehow."  
"What can I say? The lower levels of the hold need patrolling too."  
"And I'm sure the guard captain appreciates your 'initiative.'"  
"What he doesn't know won't hurt him."  
  
Dave and Jade made their way to the armory without incident. "Alright, I'll start on the swords, you take the spears," Dave handed a spear and a rag to Jade.  
Just as Jade was opening the polish container, an unexpected voice came from the sword rack, "Honestly, I've never seen so many shitty swords in one place."  
"HOLY--" Jade dropped the container in astonishment. Dave's sword was drawn as they saw a figure appear from the corner behind the rack.  
Upon recognizing the form, Dave sheathed his sword. "Shit, Bro, you just can't make a normal visit can you?"  
"This is your Bro you're always talking about?" Jade gasped still trying to catch her breath.  
"Aw, that's sweet, you talk about me often, Dave?"  
"Hardly." Dave replied.  
"Ah, just to your girlfriend then."  
"Wait, she's not--"  
"It's nice to meet you, miss. My name is Dirk, brother of this sorry lad." He approached Jade after giving Dave a tender pat on the shoulder.  
"I'm Jade. It's nice to finally meet you, are you really like a ninja or something?"  
Dirk laughs heartily. "Some might say that, but I am just a humble sell-sword."  
"I presume there's a reason you're here, Bro?" Dave interrupts.  
"You know me, ever the man of business." Dirk opens the satchel at his side and reveals a rectangular item wrapped in a dirty cloth. "Dave, I need you to bring this to the Duke's arcane advisor; have her take a look at it."  
"What for? What is it?"  
"It's a tome, and it's very old, so handle it with care, will you?" He hands the cloth-covered book to Dave.  
"Woah! That's so cool! Can we take a look? Just a peek? Where'd you get it?" Jade began hovering over the tome, her eyes fixed.  
"No peeking. Keep it wrapped until the arcane advisor has a look at it. I don't want this thing damaged."  
"It's probably something Bro snatched on the expedition." Dave responds.  
"Dave, I'm hurt. I am a professional. I'll have you know the client allowed me to keep this piece out of the goodness of his heart."  
"But you probably convinced him it was worthless, and now you want to find out just how much it really is worth, right?"  
"The client was already convinced of its value--or lack thereof. But I can tell this modest tome is much more than it seems. However, I need a professional to examine it, and an arcane advisor to the Duke is just the kind of person who would probably know a thing or two about it."  
"So why not just ask her yourself?"  
"You think I can just casually walk in here and hand a tome to the Duke's personal advisor asking for a favor? Besides, you are the Duke's official champion knight, and I happen to know you are personal friends with the his young and beautiful advisor."  
"Must you always spy on me? It's kind of creepy."  
"As your Bro, it is my job to keep tabs on you. Now, get that tome to her as soon as you can. You know how to contact me when she's got the results."  
"Fine. See you."  
"It was a pleasure," Dirk gives a little bow toward Jade.  
"It was nice to meet you, Mr. Strider."  
"Oh, please call me Dirk."  
"Just get out of here, Bro." Dave smacks Dirk's arm.  
"Fine fine. I'm gone. You never saw me."  
With that, Dirk was silently out the door. Dave examines the tome still covered in rags and tied with twine.  
"Well, he was certainly nice!" Jade chirps.  
"He was just trying to embarrass me--a big nerd normally, but as soon as he meets someone I'm friends with, he becomes Mr. Sauve."  
"Mr. Suave indeed!" Jade chuckled. "Alright, that tome can wait; let's make these weapons shine so we can get some sleep."

* * *

  
**Prologue, Part III : The Seer**  
Rose gave little thought to the obviously ill opinions her fellow advisors held for her. She did not specialize in any political or military field. Thus, she was unique also in part that she was the only advisor who was not of nobility. She was a diviner and also an expert in arcane science. She was appointed by the Duke to offer insight on all matters relating to magic, a reasonable and just decision regardless of his advisors' opinions.  
She spent most of her time in her chambers reading or studying artifacts presented to the Duke. She occasionally visited the apothecary chamber to retrieve items she may need for her work or to badger Jade about keeping the equipment clean. After all, much of the said equipment belonged to Rose.  
Without a knock or warning Dave burst through the door to her chamber. Unwavered and without lifting an eye from her book, she greets him. "Hello again, Dave. Don't bother announcing yourself, privacy is something I absolutely detest." Her words dripped with sarcasm which Dave promptly ignored.  
"Hey, Rose. You busy?"  
"Yes, actually. Duke Egbert has entrusted me to--"  
"Yeah, cool. Take a look at this." Dave interrupted holding out the tome still concealed by the cloth Dirk had wrapped it in.  
"What is this filthy thing?"  
"It's an old tome Bro retrieved from an expedition."  
"Your brother certainly is the curious sort, isn't he?"  
"Would you take a look at it? See if there's anything you know about it--maybe what it's worth."  
"Very well," Rose sighed, "but only because this tome of yours has piqued my interest." She motioned toward the table in the corner of the room.  
Dave brought the book to the table and began to unbind it as Rose approached. Pulling the cloth from the tome revealed it to be leather-bound and caked in a thick layer of dust and dirt. Just under the layers of gunk, one could almost make out a seemingly ornate design along the corners. "Oh my god," Rose murmured to herself reaching for the tome she was now sure was quite old. "I'm going to need some time to have the book cleaned before I examine it," she purred, her eyes still fixed on the tome gently rubbing away dirt from the spine.  
"Fine. Take your time."  
"Oh, and could you send Jade here when you see her tonight? I'll need her help with this."  
"What makes you think I'm going to see Jade tonight? I'm on evening patrol today."  
Rose shoots him one of her looks Dave has gotten quite familiar with. This particular glare reeked of ' _Do as I say because I know everything._ ' She was, after all, quite familiar with Dave's routine lack of work ethic. She also knew the cellar was one of his favored places to slack off without being noticed.  
"Alright, whatever. I'll let her know," Dave grunted on his way out the door.

* * *

  
**Prologue, Part IV : The Witch**  
"So? What did Rose say about the book?" Jade jumped at Dave immediately as he was entering the apothecary chamber. "You did bring it to her, right?"  
"Jeez, Harley. Hello to you too."  
"Sorry, Dave. I just couldn't stop thinking about that book since yesterday. I'm curious what sort of information it holds!"  
"Rose and I took a look at the thing, but it was caked in dirt. I'm not sure if it'll be legible once Rose is done cleaning it."  
"Oh man. I sure hope it is! Dirk would be rather disappointed."  
"Also, Rose wanted your help with restoring it. She told me to send you to her chamber tonight."  
"Okie dokie. Is that all you came down here for, or are you just 'patrolling the cellar' again?" Jade teased.  
"Hey, can't a cool guy take a break from his patrols to visit a friend without there being alcohol or business involved?"  
"Hehe I guess not," Jade smiled.  
"Cool, now let's crack open a case of mead and--"  
"Hey!" Jade slapped Dave's arm repeatedly, "You jerk, don't make fun of me!"  
"Kidding! Kidding! I would never." Dave gently pushed her back by the shoulder.  
"You said you were on patrol just now?" Jade inquired. "After last night _and_ the demonstration of arms this morning?"  
"Yeah, the Captain's got it out for me, but he's been even more of a dick lately."  
"Isn't there anything you can do? Reason with him?"  
"Easy for you to say, your Ladyship. I may be a knight, but I'm still not nobility like every single guard besides me."  
"Oh, I'm hardly nobility. I'm a distant relative to the Duke. As the Duke's cousin, my grandpa was given a title of Marquess as a formality since they are blood related."  
"At least if _I_ were related to the Egberts, the guards would be assholes behind my back instead of in my face."  
"Sorry, Dave. Your only option is to marry into the family. Now, who is related to the Duke but is young and unwed? Hm?"  
"I dunno, Harley. John can be pretty inept. Do you think he'd really notice if I came on to him?"  
"You are such a jerk! You know that's not what meant!" Jade began swatting at Dave again.  
"Hahaha! Harley you're just too easy to tease." Dave snickered as Jade gave him one last stern whack for good measure. "I'd better get back to the patrol before the guards notice I'm gone." He leans in to place a kiss on her forehead before swiftly rounding the corner out of the chamber.  
"Alright. Bye, Dave!" She waved him off before turning to collect supplies for restoring the tome.  
  
Upon arriving at Rose's chamber, Jade found the door to be closed. She knocked on the door. "Rose? Are you in there?" No answer. She rapped on the door louder. "Rose? It's Jade."  
"A moment!" a muffled voice came from behind the door.  
A couple seconds later the door was opened to reveal Rose. "Sorry, I was a little immersed in cleaning the tome just now. Come in."  
Rose widened the door to make way for Jade. They proceeded to the tome that remained on the table where Dave had left it. Rose had already removed much of the dirt and grime revealing nearly the entire spine that now visibly showed an ornate pattern.  
"I've brought supplies and potions to dissolve filth from crevices and imprints."  
"I'm glad you did, it looks like there is an imprinted pattern in the cover. Did you bring a hand pick?"  
"Of course, right here." Jade hands Rose the small, sharp cleaning utensil along with a brush.  
They spent the next several hours working on the cover alone. It was almost dawn when the cover and the binding had been entirely cleaned and restored. The binding appeared to be leather, but had an unusual greenish hue. The spine and the corners of the cover were embedded with a gold imprint of opulent design. In the middle of the front cover was very plain symbol. The emblem appeared to be of an arrow divided at the base into four quadrants. "I think It's some kind of spellbook," Rose suggested. "A very, _very_ old spellbook. I wonder where Dave's brother got it?"  
Over the next few weeks, Jade and Rose continued to carefully restore the individual pages. They were often visited by Dave who was casually shirking his guard duties. They made use of his frequent visits to have him retrieve more supplies from the apothecary chamber. John began showing up at Rose's chamber instead of the apothecary to find Jade when it was time for his magic lesson. Rose even took an occasional break to sit in on his lesson.  
During this time Dirk sent a message to Dave imploring "absolutely, _under no conditions_ , should he or anyone else attempt any magic held in the tome." The message was initially received by the guard captain as with all mail delivered for guards. As a result of the captain's hubris and contempt for Dave, the letter was never received, and doom would soon fall upon the fiefdom.

_To be continued..._


	2. Rapture

_At the cost of everything, one may gain anything._

 

It is in times like these that John really wished life was different. John's life was certainly not devoid of pleasure; there was just this nagging feeling that there is more to life—or at least that there _should_ be more. Today's manners lesson was a “special treat.” The lesson was extended to overlap with dinner as it occasionally did, and this time, John was to attend a banquet with his father, the duke.

John was bored to tears among the noble guests when the duke suddenly announced the arrival of the ambassador of Neustria just as the servants brought in the main coarse: a large, roast hog. The joke presumably might have been better received if the said ambassador hadn't been one the prestigious guests. Having realized he had just been made the fool, the ambassador stormed out while John and his father struggled to stifle their laughter. Sadly, the merriment was short-lived as the remaining nobles found the jest rather distasteful. The remnant of the dinner was carried out in awkward silence.

John left the banquet quite stressed with only a predictably frustrating swordsmanship lesson to greet his anxiety. He arrived at the guards' training ground outside the barracks where his lessons have routinely been held. However, his normally punctual tutor was nowhere to be found. John spotted Dave over by the training dummies and approached him.

“Hey, Dave. You seen my instructor around? He's never been late before.”

“You're looking at him, Egbert.” Dave said with a slightly patronizing tone.

“What? No, really. What are you trying to pull?”

“I'm serious. Your pops seemed to think you weren't making much progress and thought a change of instructor might do the trick. And who better than the best swordsman in Aachen?”

“Ha, really? Don't let your bro hear that or he'll whoop your ass.” John chuckled.

“He's not _in_ Aachen, now is he?” Dave retorted.

“Honestly, I wouldn't know—he could be standing behind me right now, and I probably wouldn't know. The guy gives me chills.”

“Ah, fair point, but I have it in good authority that he's gone on another expedition to the ruins where he found the book.”

“Speaking of which, Rose and Jade are taking their sweet time with that thing. You know when they'll be done?”

“Speaking of which, never mind that,” Dave hands John a wooden sword that was propped against a dummy. “Here, sword time.”

Dave takes a step back and points to the nearest dummy. “Now, hit that. I don't care how, just give that thing your best shot, mkay?”

John complies and adjusts the wooden training weapon in his hand. He positions himself directly in front of the dummy and gives a horizontal strike to the middle of the dummy. The sword lands with a thud _._

“Again.”

John steps back and makes a strike on approximately the same place.

“ _Again._ ”

“Dave, I—“

“Hit now, talk later.” Dave insists.

This went on as John smacked the dummy a few more times with the training weapon until Dave lifted his hand as a signal to cease.

“John,” Dave pauses with and small sigh. “That was pathetic. How long have you been learning swordsmanship?”

“Since I was about 7 like any page. What? It wasn't that bad.”

“John, buddy, you're my best bro, so I'm gonna be straight with you. You've been doing this for like ten years, and a child could probably stand his own against you. Either you're not taking this seriously, or you're just incapable of learning the sword.”

“Jeez, don't sugar-coat it for me. Besides, you couldn't possibly know that just from me hitting that dummy a couple times. I doubt you would look much better hitting this thing.”

The moment Dave's hand touched his sword, his arm was a blur. With a sound like splitting wood, the dummy was in two, and Dave's sword was sheathed all in the blink of an eye.

“Shit, Dave,” John said astonished.

“Admittedly, I used a little magic to alter my speed, but the point remains that I couldn't have done that without knowing how to use this thing,” Dave rests his hand on the hilt of his sword and motions with the other to the next dummy. "Hit it one more time."

"Dave—“

"One more."

John reluctantly turns to the dummy and gives a strong swing. Just as he does, Dave uses leg to give John a casual push on the hip. Light as it was, the push mid-swing still managed to turn John's entire body with his momentum causing him to barely hit the target and fall to the ground from loss of balance.

"The form of your swing is awful, and you're overcompensating with strength. This wouldn't be nearly as bad if you had a wider, less casual stance before you swing," Dave lectures, now glancing around until he spots something. Dave walks off watched by a somewhat confused John. Upon his return, Dave is holding a large maul.

"The hell is that thing for?" John inquires.

"It's a mallet of sorts. Technically, it's used to pound pegs for siege equipment into the ground; but when the archers guarding said equipment are overrun or run out of arrows, they often grab these bad-boys and _wham!_ " Dave makes a swinging motion. "Here. And remember, wide stance."

John takes the maul, and Dave motions to the dummy. John spreads his legs to shoulder-width and lifts the considerably heavy mallet over his head. With a mighty force, he brings it down on the dummy. The once sturdy mannequin is smashed; the considerably thick steak that held it up broken in two.

Dave gives John a friendly pat on the shoulder. "The sword just doesn't suit you, buddy."

"The guard captain is going to be angry about these broken dummies, isn't he?" John surveys the damage inflicted on the two mannequins.

"Oh yeah. Totally pissed."

* * *

 

By this time, John had become somewhat proficient with his first combat spell. He certainly has plenty of room for improvement, but he can cast a powerful enough attack to be useful in actual combat. However, because of this, much of his lessons these days consist almost entirely of practicing over and over while Jade critiques.

John made his way to Rose's quarters where he expected Jade to be still helping Rose restore the tome Dirk had brought Dave to have examined. John knocked as he entered and was surprised to find Jade was not present.

"What do you mean 'no?'" Dave was saying to Rose just and John entered.

"I mean exactly what I said. I presume you know what the word means, do you not?"

"Oh, don't you be snarky with me. You're just planning to keep it for yourself then?"

"Absolutely not. I said I would examine in, and I simply haven't finished. If all your brother intends is to sell it, then I need to at least keep it a little longer to see what knowledge it holds. I swear, you and your Bro can have it back when I'm finished." Rose implored.

"It's been weeks, Rose."

"Is this about the book?" John intervened.

"Yes," Rose sighed, "but Dave is trying to give the book back to his brother now that we've just finished restoring it."

"So the book is finished then? And where's Jade?" John inquired.

"We finished about midday; Jade went down to the apothecary chamber to resume her duties she's been letting pile up." Rose answered.

"Right. Now that the book is finished, I need it so I can contact Bro that it's done." Dave interjected.

"I seem to remember you didn't ask me to just restore. You wanted me to 'take a look at it' and 'see what it's worth.'" Rose responded.

"So what would something like this be worth then?" Dave asked.

"A lot more now that it has been restored—you're welcome. However, depending on who you sell it to, it could be worth a fortune or just a piece of trash. But I suspect your brother already knew this, he probably just needed someone to confirm it."

"But why bother? Couldn't he have just tried pawning it off to someone who would be interested in old shit like this instead of going through the trouble to 'confirm it?'" John asked.

"Unless he thought it might be too valuable to sell," Dave suggested.

"Or too dangerous." Rose added with a tone of finality. "The text seems to be in another language. However, it appears to be extremely similar to our own. I suspect it may actually be an ancient tongue our language derives from. In any case, this will make it much easier and much quicker to translate."

"You didn't bother doing any of this while you were restoring the pages?" Dave inquired.

"We were delicately pealing old, rotted pages apart while desperately trying to preserve the text. Multitasking wasn't a keen option." Rose explained. "What I _did_ discover though, is that the book seems to be partitioned into four parts. The purpose for this, I don't know. But that is something I want to find out before you hand it over to your brother to sell to some collector. Now, are we done with the interrogation? I'd like to get back to work."

"Fine. Whatever. At least, I didn't contact Bro to come yet. He doesn't like being called for nothing. Let me know if you discover anything interesting." With that, Dave was out the door.

"You two don't seem to get along much lately." John walked over to the table in the corner where the newly restored book lie.

"Don't worry, it may look that way from the outside, but Dave is more amiable than he seems. You might say our relationship is much like that of 'sibling rivalry."' Rose reassured.

"Well, good." A piece of paper near the book caught John's eye. "Is that from the book?"

"Yes," Rose acknowledged, "It's some notes I've made on the language of the text—a working cipher, if you will."

"So how long do you think it'll take? The book—to finish examining it and all."

"As long as it takes to decipher, essentially. If I have time to make a translated copy, even better. Lost knowledge like this shouldn't be so easily given up."

"You said it's spellbook, right?"

"So it would seem, but it also seems to be more than that. The four sections for instance, I doubt it's just divided that way for categorizing purposes. The nature of each quarter seems to be entirely different. Honestly, doubt it's anything like a spellbook in the way you or I would imagine it in a modern context."

"What do you mean?"

"Our spellbooks are essentially a collection of spells and their function. Some might also include illustrations or instructions for learning the spell. Beyond that the only illustrations are some unusual symbols and sigils, this book seems less like an empirical catalog, and more like a collection of knowledge composed as if the writer were speaking directly to us, the reader."

"Is that strange?"

"Maybe not. Perhaps that is just the way knowledge was recorded at the time. It suggests this old civilization viewed magic with a great reverence rather than as a science like we do today."

"Well, I should go find Jade, I'm probably already late for our lesson."

"Very well. If you need anything, you know where you can find me."

"Thanks, Rose."

* * *

 

Jade was waiting for John in the apothecary chamber. When he entered the room, Jade was digging through books on the shelf at the far side of the room.

"Looking for something?" John asked.

"Just found it actually," Jade responded now facing him with a book in here hands. She extends the book toward him. "For you."

Without a word, he takes it and examines it. The cover was adorned with the Egbert coat of arms. "What is it?" He inquires.

"It's a spellbook. More specifically, it contains all the known spells of your family's nobility magic."

Upon opening the book, John saw that she was exactly right. Each page had a spell named in Latin followed by a brief description and instructions with some simple diagrams.

Jade points to the first page. "This first one is the one we learned together, flatus. I'm giving this book to you so you can study on your own and choose where you want to take your lessons in the future. We'll concentrate on one spell at a time, but you can decide which one we work on next."

"Thanks, Jade."

"Of course!"

"Where did you get this anyway?"

"It was my grandpa's. He is blood related to the Egberts, after all. It would have been passed down from his parents who taught him. He gave it to me when I started learning magic. I imagine your dad has a similar copy."

They made their way to the courtyard and spent the night practicing flatus and discussing the spells in the book. Jade shared helpful insight about the ones she knew; John was slightly disenchanted to find Jade didn't know every spell in the book. In fact, she could only perform about half of them. Jade reassured him that if and when he chooses to learn a spell she does not yet know, they will learn it together. John was oddly comforted by the prospect.

The somber moment was broken by a scream in the distance. "The hell was that?" Jade questioned clearly unnerved.

"Come on, let's see what happened. Sounded like it came from that direction."

The two of them head toward the center of the keep, and right away they could tell there was something off. There was always at least two if not several guards stationed this close to the main hall of the hold. John hastens his pace. Noises could be heard in the distance, loud chatter, yelling, thuds, clunks, and crashes like a rowdy party crammed in a small room.

They enter the main hall to find a guard limp on the ground covered in blood at their feet and another one lying a the base of the stairs at the end of the hall. They were dead. The commotion suddenly ceases. Taking this as a bad sign, John sprints down the corridor leading to the throne room. His heart was pounding. Something awful is certainly happening. At least two guards are dead. _What the hell is going on?_ John thought panicking. _Intruders? Rebels? Angry nobleman? Why here? Why now? Why the throne room?_ At that moment, John remembered the throne room wasn't the only thing down this painfully long-ass hall. _The royal bedroom. DAD!!_

They burst through the double doors into the throne room. There were a handful of corpses, mostly guards and a couple servants, but two of the bodies weren't wearing any armor or uniform John recognized. Instead, they were wearing darkened leather and black hoods. John had never seen so much blood in his life. He fought back the urge to vomit just as his eye caught a pair of figures in the corner. They were wearing similar unfamiliar garb in front of the stairwell that lead to the bedroom. John's eyes met the nearest one as the figure flew into action. Incredibly quick and nimble, the intruder was within feet of John in a second, he almost seemed to fly as he leaped toward John bearing a long dagger. Instinctively, John threw up his hand, and with a loud _crack,_ the figure was whirled across the room by the force of flatus. John turns to face his other foe that presumably was already nearly on top of him. Instead, he finds Jade, her arm extended, standing over the other intruder who was now on the ground, on fire, and not moving.

"Jade! _Assassins!"_ John turned toward the stairwell.

"Those two were just likely on watch for any uninvited guests like ourselves. We should assume there's several more."

They run up the stairs and into the royal bedroom, the door already wide open. John enters the room at full speed and nearly trips over a body. He is immediately met with a familiar face. Dave was the only one in the room standing save the figure that was impaled by his sword.

"Dave! Thank god you're here. Where's my dad?" John said between gasps as Dave withdrew his sword from his victim's chest.

"I don't know. I followed these bastards here. I suppose they intended to catch the duke relatively alone and unguarded as he slept, but he wasn't even here to begin with."

"Is this all of them?" John, still catching his breath, took a moment to survey the bedroom that was littered with a half dozen corpses.

"It's possible, but I doubt it. A full on attack on a regent like this wouldn't have been carried out by just a handful of men. They probably have people lurking about through the entire hold silently slaughtering anyone they see—particularly anyone who looks important." Dave looks directly into John's eyes with a gaze that seemed to pierce through him. "We need to get you somewhere safe."

"No! We need to find my dad!"

"John! If these guys are really here to kill the duke, they're here to kill his heir and—"

"I said no! I am ordering you as Marquess of Aachen and heir to the throne of Austrasia, you _will_ help me find my dad _first."_ Dave had never seen John with such a serious face, it sent chills down his spine.

"Fine. Jade—"

"I'm coming too, don't you dare tell me to hide in a corner, Dave. I swear to god." Jade cut him off.

"Somehow, I knew you'd feel that way. Come on, I haven't the slightest idea where Duke Egbert might be, but we need to get moving."

"What about Rose?" Jade interjected.

"We need to warn her about the danger if she doesn't already know, but we stick together. It may be the only way we can _all_ make it out of this alive." Dave responds.

"We need to go! No time to waste." John said already out the door.

The three of them retreated down the staircase and back through the main hall where they caught a lone intruder off guard. He was swiftly taken care of by Jade's quick and deadly magic. They then traversed up the stairs to the west wing where Rose's bed chamber was located. They burst through the door to find Rose on her feet next to the writing desk, the room otherwise empty.

"What the hell?" Rose exclaims, "Dave, are you covered in _blood?_ Are you hurt?"

"Nothing serious. Assassins are in the hold, they want the duke's head." Dave explained at a hurried pace.

"We need to go. Now. I know where he is." Rose leads them out of the chamber. John begins to follow but a scrap of paper on Rose's writing desk catches his eye. _Now is NOT the time._ He thought. But a curiosity came over him like something he's never felt. The note was next to Rose's cipher; it had some of the ancient text written on it and a translation scribbled below it in Rose's handwriting. In the middle was a complex diagram that vaguely resembled two squares overlapping to make an eight-point star. He had trouble taking his eyes from the sigil. It almost felt like it was singing to him. Instead of wasting time struggling over it, he snatches the scrap, shoves it in his pocket, and runs after the other three.

Rose leads the party hastily to the garden on the south side of the hold. As they step into the garden, they see a figure clothed in white, satin nightclothes sitting on a marble bench next to the fountain. John instantly made out the form as his father.

"Dad!"

Duke Egbert stood and turned toward his son, and John begins to walk toward him relieved to see him okay. As John is only a couple feet from him, he here's soft hiss followed by a thud. It was only a moment more when John saw the white breast of his father's satin shirt turn red.

John tried to yell, but he heard nothing. Nothing at all. It was almost like his ears were plugged. His vocal chords shuddered and vibrated painfully, but no sound came out. In fact, John heard no sounds at all beyond a ringing in his ears.

John saw Dave's mouth form the word, "Archers!" He was motioning for everyone to get down. John began seeing arrows fall around them and dark figures approaching, his friends taking cover, his father falling to the ground.

An arrow flew into his left forearm. The force jerked his arm, but he felt no pain. Time slowed down. The ringing in his ears was so loud. _Ringing, ringing—no,_ _**singing**_ _._ John thought. He reached into his pocket with his right arm and pulled out the scrap of paper with the alluring sigil. Rose's translation of the text read "a favor for a favor / a wish for a wish." John didn't know who or what would be at the other end of this deal or what it might wish for if anything at all. Just above was the ancient text. The text now seemed uncannily familiar, the singing seemed to whisper it to him, the meaning of the words. It meant more than the translation led on.

 _At the cost of everything, one may gain anything._  

If John could gain anything, if he could have just one wish, it would be for his dad, for his friends, for himself. John set the paper on the ground and groped the wound on his arm covering his right hand in the blood. John tried to speak, his vocal chords vibrated, his mouth soundlessly formed the words, " _Dave, Jade, Rose._ " _At least let me save them._ He thought. The singing rang in his ears painfully.

_That isn't all what you want._

He attempted to form one more word. _Something. Anything._ He thought, his eyes still fixed on the beautiful sigil etched into that paper.

_I know what it is you need._

The assailants were surely no more than a meter or two from him and his friends by now. John raises his blood-covered hand and slams it down on the sigil. The singing went silent; everything was silent as the final word fell from John's lips.

 

_"Vengeance."_

 

 


	3. Eden

**Eden**

                John faded into consciousness, but didn't recognize anything around him. All was quiet, entirely silent, and all was white and rather bright. His body seemed intangible. John felt like he should begin to panic, but he felt strangely serene. A few moments later, a figure began to pierce the white. As the entity approached, John saw that it was a young woman. She had long, black hair that fell around her constantly moving. Her skin by contrast was nearly as white as the empty space around her.

                "Hello, John," She spoke. "You are in danger."

                "Danger? What happened? What's going on and where am I?" John asked barely finding the words to speak. "...And who are you?"

                "My name is Typheus. Your situation is grave. If you do not do as I say, you will perish." The woman said plainly.

                "What? I don't understand, the last thing I remember--" John racked his brain to think, but it was difficult. "I was in the hold? And then... The assassins--Dad! Is he-- Are my friends--?"

                "Your father is dead. Your friends, the three names you spoke, they live and are safe for now. However, should you die, they will not remain that way."

                "I still don't understand." John was only getting more confused by the second. It was very difficult to think clearly.

                "You must do as I say for your sake and the sake of many others. I'm sorry, but I must ask a great deal from you and your friends."

                John wasn't sure how to respond. He still didn't know what was going on. In a moment of unexpected clarity, he knew there was only one thing at this point he was absolutely sure of: he must live. "I understand. Ask what you will."

                "Very well."

* * *

 

                John awoke with a start. His mind was much clearer now; his body felt tangible again. _A strange dream?_ He thought while sitting up. It was then he realized that the dream may not be entirely over. He looked around to find himself sitting in a grassy plain. The grass was long and strangely smooth and colored like a pastel painting. Very small, cotton-like tufts floated just above the blades and gave off a slight glow. Based on the lighting, it seemed to be just before dusk, but John could not spot the sun anywhere. In fact, the sky--even the air around him--seemed quite foggy and ethereal.

                "Hey! He's awake!" He heard a voice from behind him. John turned around to see Dave, Jade, and Rose coming toward him. Jade ran to him and threw herself into his chest wrapping her arms around him. John felt a pain in his left arm. He noticed his wound was cleaned and wrapped in bandages.

                "Thank god you're okay!" She sobbed.

                "I'm fine. I'm fine." John said returning her embrace. "But where are we?"

                "Hell if we know," Dave chimed in. "You went all blank faced in the middle of a fucking battle. Then you slapped that weirdass scrap of paper, and now we're here."

                "To put it plainly." Rose added. "However, I think I may be able to clear some things up. But first, John, where did you get that piece of paper?"

                "It was from your chamber. On your writing desk. I'm sorry; I don't know what came over me when I took it." John responded with notes of shame in his voice.

                "It's not your fault, John. The original sigil from the book obviously contained significant, unknown power, but I figured if I made a copy onto an insignificant piece of parchment, it would be merely a symbol. I should have been more careful." Rose explained. "That aside, this confirms my thoughts on where we might be."

                "Which would be--?" Dave pressed.

                "Which would be Eden, the realm between realms." Rose finished.

                "The what?" John questioned.

                "While mages like John and Jade use magic to directly influence the world around them, diviners like myself use magic to summon spirits to perform such tasks. These 'spirits,' however, aren't truly what most people think of them. They may take an intangible, ethereal form in our world, but in their own, they have a corporeal body as physical and definite as our own. That ethereal form we observe is a manifestation that diviners call an 'avatar.'"

                "And what does any of this have to do with where we are or what 'Eden' is?"

                "Eden is the name given to the realm between ours and that of the spirits'. It is generally believed to be just an empty space, but just looking around, it is obviously so much more than that."

                "Why must you sound elated in the most inconvenient of times?" Dave interrupted.

                "Excuse me if I can appreciate such an incredible discovery. In fact, we are probably the first people to set foot here _ever_. Besides, we are out of danger for the moment."

                "Right, let's just frolic through the interdimensional meadow and not even give a second thought to the fact that we have no idea how to get back to our own world."

                "And that brings me to my final point," Rose sighed. "Since there are absolutely no records of anyone ever entering Eden, there are just as many records of anyone getting out."

                "So we're stuck here?" Jade joined in.

                "Maybe not." Everyone fell silent and looked at John. "While I was out, a girl spoke to me like in a dream."

                "Woah, John, we don't talk about _those_ kinds of dreams out loud, buddy." Dave heckled.

                "She said her name was Typheus." John continued pretending not to hear Dave's tease.

                "Wait," Rose interrupted, "Typheus? Like the patron spirit of air?"

                "I guess. She didn't say, but she made me agree help her--to become 'allies.' And in return she gave me this." John raised his hand to reveal the palm of his right hand. In the center of his palm was a silver symbol, a triangle with a horizontal line through the middle.

                "John, that is indeed the sigil of Typheus. Diviners use sigils like this to bind a spirit to an object. But binding to a living creature, let alone a human, has never really been done successfully. Not to mention, it's been generally viewed as a _really_ bad idea."

                "That's weird," Dave interjected. "When I examined your wounds, there was some weirdass symbol on your palm there, but it wasn't that one. It was much more complex like an eight-point diagram."

                "Most likely from the parchment John used to bring us here." Rose suggested. "The sigil, from what I could tell, seemed to be some kind of pact or trade. So, upon binding said pact, the sigil was probably imprinted onto John's skin to connect him to whoever the other party of said pact would be. It's just like enchanting an object, it would seem. You use the sigil to make a seal on the object, and the object then contains the power of the respective spirit that the sigil represents. It's an extremely difficult process, but it creates invaluable tools and weapons."

                "But it looks like Typheus has managed to overwrite the seal somehow with one of her own. Does that mean this 'pact' is off?" Jade inquires.

                "Either that or the pact has already been completed," Rose adds.

                "John, you mentioned that seal gives us a way out of here?" Jade turns to John.

                "Right, yeah." John stands up. "Typheus said that she had the power to travel from Eden, but lacked the ability to _get_ here in the first place. So instead, she granted me her power so I could use it."

                "Okay, but how do you use it?" Jade asks.

                "I'm not really sure, but I think I might have an idea. Are you guys ready?" John motions for everyone to get in close.

                "Ready as I'll ever be." Jade said.

                "Let's get outta this dump." Dave added.

                They all huddled in around John shoulder-to-shoulder. John extended his hand downward and clasped his wrist with his off-hand. He focused his mind on the seal and attempted to converge his magic into his hand. To his surprise, his hand began to glow with the concentration of magic energy. In an attempt to make something happen he gives an internal push and clenches his hand imagining the way he summoned wind magic before. The air around his hand began to swirl rapidly and grew consuming his arm. The bigger it became, the louder the sound. In mere seconds, the whirlwind bubble had completely surrounded him and was now enveloping his friends. The sound of the gust filled his ears and he was unable to see even directly in front of him from the way the wind distorted the air around him. He felt weightless.

                Suddenly, the wind ceased, and all was dark. John felt a comfortingly solid ground below his feet. He could tell it was stone.

                "Is everyone okay?" Jade's voice came from the dark beside him.

                "Yeah, I'm alright." Dave's voice emerged from another direction.

                "I am fine as well." Rose's voice was directly behind him.

                "Hold on." Jade said. In a moment, light filled the room. John tracked the source of the light to Jade who had conjured a flame that now emerged from her hand.

                "Where are we?" Dave wondered aloud.

                "It appears to be a temple of some kind." Rose answered.

                "I found a torch." Jade called out as she lit the sconce.

                "Another one over here." Dave responded.

                Jade lit Dave's torch and the four of them began examining the dank room they were in. The walls were carved with an unfamiliar, ornate design. It seemed foreign, even other-worldly. The far wall had what appeared to be a shrine with an alter and a statuette of a figure John didn't recognize. There were fluted pillars all around the room.

                "Over there," Dave pointed toward the end of the room opposite the shrine, "It looks like there's some stairs over there. Perhaps a way out."

                They proceeded to the stairs. The mouth of the corridor was fairly wide as if to accommodate a crowd. They climbed the stairs, and after a few turns, they could see light ahead. They emerged out of the temple to find themselves at the base of a cliff. The entrance of the tunnel was equally ornate as the inside. Greek-like architecture was carved into the cliff with more fluted pillars. All four of them took a brief moment to gaze at the sight.

                "It looks like we still have some daylight left. We should get moving and see if we can find civilization before nightfall." Dave suggested. The sun appeared to be at high-noon, so it was about midday. "Who knows where we ended up."

* * *

 

                The group took a brief inventory before setting out. For the most part, all they had was the clothes on their backs with the addition of John's spellbook Jade had given him, Dave's sword, and Rose's satchel. Rose's satchel was fairly small and only contained a couple pieces of parchment, a well of ink, a quill, some money, and an assortment of unusual herbs she collected from Eden.

                They spent the next several hours traveling across the plains and hills of the unknown land which none of them recognized in the slightest. The temperature wasn't particularly sultry, but the humidity in addition to the constant walking made all of them hot and sticky with sweat. They had waded through multiple rivers and traversed through a bog before finally spotting what seemed to be a fairly large town in the distance just as the sun began to touch the horizon.

                The party proceeded to the town in hopes of finding a place to stay as well as a clue to their location. As they entered, the town seemed to be overflowing with vagabonds and vagrants.

                "Damn, seems they have quite the homeless problem here," Dave muttered to his companions.

                "Such are large city with so many vagrants--there's no way this is normal," Rose concluded, "it's almost like all these people came for a festival or some event, but have no way to return to their home."

                "But the weather is fine, and it doesn't seem like there's anything or anyone keeping them from leaving." Jade added.

                "Over here," Dave leads them toward a nearby inn, "we can ask about it while we find a place to stay. Rose, how much money we got?"

                Rose patted her satchel that sat at her hip. "I don't have much, but it should cover us for a night and a few modest meals."

                They enter the inn which seemed to serve as a tavern at ground-level. They approached the bar to speak to the barkeep and presumably the innkeeper.

                "I don't suppose you have any rooms left, sir?" Rose asked politely.

                "Goddammit, not another one. I keep telling you refugees, we're completely booked, and that ain't changing anytime soon. So tell ya friends to stop asking." The barkeep turned around to face them clearly irritated.

                "Hey, if you're full, just say so. No need to be a dick." Dave laid his hand on his sword.

                John quickly nudges Dave behind him. "I'm sorry about that; my friend is just tired from all the traveling, see." He says with a convincing smile. "We're just travelers passing through." John turns to Dave. "Why don't you and the others take a seat in the tavern, I'll see if I can get us some directions."

                Dave complies with a small huff and proceeds to the corner of the tavern accompanied by Jade and Rose. John turns back to the bartender.

                "Again, I apologize for my friend's rude behavior. He's just some hired muscle; we're travelling merchants, you see." John lied kindly with a professional finality. This seemed to noticeably ease the barkeep.

                "Ah, I'm sorry for my poor reaction. As you probably noticed, the streets are filled with the people we and every other inn in this blasted city has had to turn away. Well, welcome to Nantes, stranger." The barkeep said with a slightly sarcastic sigh.

                "You mentioned refugees?"

                "Right. Thanks to our city being right on the border, they've all come pouring in like vermin from Neustria."

                "Refugees from Neustria? What's happening there that so many would be exiled?"

                "You don't know? Your merchant group been living under a rock the past few months or something?" The barkeep seemed genuinely surprised by John's ignorance. "The rapture? No? At least that's what people are calling it now."

                "I'm sorry, we've been away from local gossip lately, mind clueing us in?"

                "Well, you may want to sit down because the world is changing, stranger. The people say it's the end of times, but that's all hogwash if you ask me. Anyway, a couple months back, Neustria invaded Austrasia. It was a stab in the back; the two nations may have been on edge for some time, but they were allies nonetheless."

                _What the hell?_ John thought. _A couple months back!? How long have we been gone?_

                The barkeep continued, "Neustria was met with great resistance which culminated to an enormous battle that lasted for weeks at Tertry. Just as it seemed Tertry was going to fall to Neustria, it was overrun from the East by a third unknown faction. They say it was monsters--terrifying, savage beasts--that were organized like a horrific army. They completely crushed the Tertry fortress and almost wiped out Neustria's army before they were forced to flee. The beasts chased the army back to Neustria and finished them off at the border--destroyed everything and everyone, no survivors. It wasn't long after they reached the capitol. Now, the entire country is in turmoil, and people are fleeing by the thousands to neighboring countries. Sadly, they won't find much peace here or anywhere else in Brittany with this blasted civil conflict going on."

                John was completely silent. He was in shock and didn't know how to respond. He couldn't even think.

                "Wow, you really didn't know a word of this?" The barkeep went on. "Well, I'm sorry to be the bearer of such bad news. I sure hope you didn't have any family in Neustria--or Austrasia for that matter. No word has come out of Austrasia for some time. They say the duchy has been completely overrun by the damn monsters."

                The barkeep sighed awkwardly as he began to notice John's distraught reaction. Just as the barkeep opened his mouth to offer what would have likely been some vague note of condolence, John's face returned to a composed, polite expression.

                "Well, thank you for the information." John said with a smile. "One last thing, you mentioned a civil conflict here?"

* * *

 

                John shared the unfortunate news with the rest of them. They were all equally astonished and appalled. They sat in silence as the frightening truth settled in: they truly were refugees now. None of them knew what to do next. None of them except for John who, somehow in the heat of stress and shock, found clarity and absolution. He knew the others were now considering the possibility of finding a new place to live and attempt to build a new life somewhere in this foreign land. That wasn't good enough for John. He was already formulating a plan to retake Austrasia from this unknown enemy.

                John sent Dave, Jade, and Rose off to set up camp on the outskirt of town and went off on his own to "gather some local information." John had noticed when they had first walked into the tavern of the inn that nearly all its patrons kept a fair distance from a particularly rowdy group on the far end of the open room. He broke a large, heavy branch from a dead tree that was nearby and leaned it by the exit of the inn before taking a seat in the tavern near the door.

                After about an hour of quietly observing the rowdy group, about half of them had left in groups. The sun had fallen and most of the people in the tavern had left. John saw an individual of the group get up to leave alone. John inconspicuously followed him out the door and grabbed the branch he had left. John tailed the young man into an empty alley and got his attention.

                "Hey, sorry to bother, would you mind pointing me to the inn?" John said while swiftly approaching the man.

                Just as the stranger had turned around, John swept the branch at his ankles with great speed causing him to spin into a horizontal position parallel to the ground. John brought the heavy branch down on the man's torso as he fell, slamming his body into the ground with incredible force. The young man gave a strained yelp in pain, the wind knocked out of his lungs. John took advantage of this moment to remove both the long bodkin dagger from the man's belt and the small stiletto tucked into his boot.

                "You and your friends seem awfully well armed to be normal citizens." John began.  "Yet, you guys obviously aren't simply a mercenary group because the local people give your entire company a wide birth and divert their eyes when you pass by. So tell me, where can I find who is in charge of your group?"

                "What the hell!?" The young man gagged spitting up specks of blood.

                "Look, I don't want to harm him or any of your comrades, I just want to have a talk."

                "Well, what have we here?" A voice came from behind John startling him.

                John spun around to find a man with wild, black hair with streaks of red holding a short polearm in a relaxed position. Behind him were about ten men, all with weapons ready.

                "What have you gotten yourself into this time, Tavros?" The man in front said with a sigh.

                "I'm sorry. He jumped me." The man John had put firmly on the ground coughed.

                "Who are you?" John asked, his make-shift club at the ready.

                "We are the Free Army, and you have found its leader." His polearm was a blur as he spun it around from its previously relaxed position and brought it down vertically to the ground with a loud, intimidating _thud_. "You may call me Rufioh."


	4. Excerpt I

“Unlike other schools of magic, enchanting is not an extemporaneous act that is improved upon through practice and performed by instinct. Generally speaking, enchantment is a two part process. The first part is creating a sigil; the second, binding said sigil to an object. Sigils are traditionally made on parchment because of its relative abundance and flexible use. To create a sigil, the enchanter must first draw the respective arcane symbol of the spirit they wish to manifest into the object. This must be done with ink capable of arcane conduction. Once the symbol is drawn, the enchanter must now infuse the ink with magic.  The magic will slowly decay once this is done, so the next step should be done quickly afterwards for an effective enchantment. The next step is to form an arcane link to the spirit realm. No need to fine tune the specifics with this step as the respective spirit’s energy will automatically seek out the arcane symbol. A novice enchanter may call upon a specialist like a diviner to complete this step. Once this step is complete, the symbol now has a firm connection to the desired spirit and is now called a sigil. One should be wary when dealing with a particularly powerful or mischievous spirit as they may be able to act through the sigil in minor ways. Now that the enchanter has a working sigil, they may move onto the second part of the process which is to bind the sigil to the desired object. The may be a wand, staff, or some other tool or instrument. There are many binding techniques varying in difficulty and complexity. The primary one we will cover in this book is the simplest and easiest. With this technique, the enchanter must simply find a relatively flat surface and lay the sigil there to bind the seal. Once the sigil has been placed in whatever fashion the chosen technique yields, the enchanter must then apply unaltered arcane energy to the ink. The amount of energy required differs depending on the sigil. The enchanter just needs to apply enough to overload the sigil. When the sigil reaches this point, the ink will burn up in an intense, compact heat leaving behind burn marks on the object where the sigil was placed. Now, the enchantment is complete.  This mark which should look identical to the symbol used is now called a seal. To utilize the enchantment, one must simply send unaltered arcane energy through the seal. When passing though the seal, the arcane energy will become altered to take on the manifestation of the respective spirit’s energy. For instance, a seal that is connected to a spirit of fire would yield some kind of flame or fire when used. The manner in which this flame would manifest depends on the spirit and a number of factors in the enchantment from the enchanted object to the ink used for the sigil. We will cover ink and parchment for arcane use and magic conduction in the next section.”

—Excerpt from _Enchanting Basics,_ Rose Lalonde


	5. Intermission I

It has been almost a year since Jack left his homeland. He lamented his misfortune. _How could I go from power and prestige to THIS?_ He thought looking around the Swabian slums that was now his home. _I was captain of the duke’s guard in Austrasia—loved and admired by all, but now…_

On that critical date when the duke was killed and the monsters appeared, Jack fought with the remaining guard to drive out the invading beasts. After nearly every one of them was killed, they retreated, abandoning the hold. By the time they escaped to safety, only Jack and three others remained. The four of them found refuge in Swabia to the south-east of Austrasia. After being forced to sell their swords and armor for food, they sought out other means of making money. Unfortunately, none of them had many skills to utilize outside of being a guard, and enlisting in the Swabian military was a death sentence. New recruits were essentially handed a sword and thrown at the Austrasian border to beat back the hordes of terrors at their doorstep.

After a couple months, Jack was offered an opportunity by a shady character. Beaten down by the world, Jack was ready to try anything. Jack was brought to an old, unmarked warehouse in what appeared to be the absolute worst part of the local slums. As he entered, he was greeted by bright lights and the mob roar of a crowd. In the center of the roaring crowd was a tall fenced in arena that was several feet below the floor.

They approached the fence as people made way for the shady character leading Jack. Within the fence were a handful of people around the perimeter and two in the middle of the floor. The two in the middle were amidst a fierce fist fight—the center of attention for all gathered and cheering.

The shady character placed a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “You win, you get a quarter of the bets—typically, a couple thousand marks per fight,” he spoke with a deep, rough voice without taking his eyes off the strife. “But if you lose…”

In that moment, one of the fighters landed a firm kick along the side of his opponent’s knee bringing him to a kneel. In the blink of an eye, the fighter had his hands on his now crippled opponent’s head, and with a strong whip of his arms, twisted it around. The opponent fell to the ground lifeless.

“Fists, clubs, axes, or knives; what’ll it be rookie?”

Jack was most familiar with a sword, but coming from a noble background, he was also trained in hand-to-hand combat as well as short blades.

“Knives,” Jack said plainly.

“Great. In that case, you’re up next.”

Jack was then pushed down a ramp to a gate of the fenced arena. An enormous bouncer hands Jack a five-inch stiletto, and without a word, pushes him through the gate closing it behind him.


End file.
